friedman



y 1.959 N. H. FRIEDMAN STETHOSCOPE HEAD Filed Oct. 16; 1956 FIIGJ FIG. 5

FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

NATHAN H. FRIEDMAN ATTORNEY.

United States Patent STETHOSCOPE HEAD Nathan H. Friedman, Stratford,Conn. Application October 16, 1956, Serial No. 616,168

2 Claims. (Cl. 181-24) The present invention relates to stethoscopes andparticularly to a new and improved stethoscope head.

Prior-known heads for stethoscopes include circular portions ofsubstantial area that contact the part of the body in the region wherethe physician desires to listen. In an effort to pick up the internalsounds of the body, these prior-known stethoscope heads were constructedwithout regard to the bone structure of the body. The circular area ofthe head often covered a portion of the body surface beneath which thebone structure of the body varied considerably. Particularly does thisoccur where a stethoscope head having a circular body-contacting portionis employed to listen to internal body sounds beneath the ribs. In suchcases, the stethoscope head covers portions of more than one rib, thusproviding an irregular structure through which the internal body soundsmust pass before entering the stethoscope head.

Additionally, where a stethoscope head is applied to the bodies of smallchildren, difficulty is often encountered in the proper detection of theinternal body sounds due to the closeness of the rib bones.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a stethoscope headhaving a construction that will enable the more accurate detection ofinternal body sounds.

Other objects include the provision of a stethoscope head that willenable a physician to locate it on the body of a patient in a manner tohave a minimum of interference with the passage of internal body soundsto the stethoscope head; the provision of such a stethoscope head havinga body-contacting portion of rectangular form having its major dimensionseveral times greater than its minor dimension; the provision of such astethoscope head and a diaphragm therefor in which a rim integral withthe diaphragm is adapted to snap into a groove surrounding the peripheryof the stethoscope head; the provision of such a stethoscope head inwhich the entire head is made from one of the well-known thermo-settingplastic materials; and the provision of such a stethoscope head in whichconvenient means is provided on its surface for facilitating the properhandling of the head during use.

The above, as well as other objects and novel features of the inventionwill become apparent from the following specification and accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stethoscope to which the principlesof the invention have been applied;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevational view of a modified form of thestethoscope head shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figs. 1, 2 and 3, theprinciples of the invention are shown as applied to a stethoscope headcomprising a body 10, preferably 2,393,507 Patented July 7, 1959 madefrom one of the well-known thermosetting plastic materials by well-knowninjection molding processes, or otherwise. The body 10 has a dimension Bseveral times that of its thickness or dimension A, thereby forming atransverse planar section of non-circular form having its majordimension several times that of its minor dimension. It is provided withthe usual tube 11 that is adapted to be connected to the ear pieces of astethoscope through a flexible rubber tube, as is well known.

The body 10 is further provided with hollowed-out depressions 12' onopposed surfaces 13 of the stethoscope head, and a groove 14 is formedabout the periphery of the body 10 a slight distance back of thebodycontacting end 15 of the body 10.

The interior of the body 10 is hollowed out to form a sound-collectingchamber 16 that leads to the tube 11. This chamber has a dimensiontransverse to the non-circular planar section that corresponds morenearly to the major dimension rather than the minor dimension thereof.Accordingly, the chamber 16 has a substantially greater volume thanprior-known stethoscope heads and, consequently, produces a bettersound-transmitting device.

A diaphragm 17, comprising a thin sheet of thermosetting plasticmaterial or the like, is provided with a peripheral edge portion 18 thatis shown as being provided with an inwardly directed portion 19 adaptedto be received within the groove 14 in the body 10. By virtue of theresilience of the diaphragm 17, it is evident that the inwardly directedportion 19 can be snapped into the groove 14 providing a convenientconnecting means between the diaphragm and the body 10.

Referring to Fig. 4, the principles of the invention are shown asapplied to a modified form of the structure of Fig. 1. A body portion20, preferably made from the same material as that from which body 10 ismade, is of generally triangular form in one plane and possesses avarying cross-sectional construction including a series of non-circularsections, which in the embodiment shown are rectangular, in successivetransverse planes. The noncircular sections in succeeding transverseplanes have decreasing major dimensions with a substantially constantminor dimension as the succession of transverse planes extend toward theusual tube 21 that is adapted to be connected to the ear pieces of thestethoscope. The interior of the body 20 follows the generalconfiguration of the outer surface thereof and provides a sound chamberhaving transverse planar sections gradually decreasing in area from thebody-contacting end of the stethoscope head to the tube 21.

Although the species shown in Figs. 4 and 5 shows no diaphragm at thebody-contacting end thereof, should such be desired, the same form ofdiaphragm as shown in Figs. l3 can with equal facility be applied to thespecies of Figs. 4 and 5.

Although the various features of the new and improved stethoscope headhave been shown and described in detail to fully disclose twoembodiments of the invention, it will be evident that numerous changesmay be made in such details, and certain features may be used withoutothers without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A stethoscope head comprising a base having a body-contacting portionleading to a sound-receiving chamber, the area of said body-contactingportion as well as a transverse section of the chamber within a planeparallel to said body-contacting portion being of noncircular formwherein one of the dimensions of each is several times that of the otherdimension of each, and the dimension of the sound-receiving chambertransversely of the plane including the body-contacting portion is morenearly equal to said one of said dimensions of said non-circulartransverse section than said other dimension thereof; and asound-conveying means integral with said base for attachment to the earpieces of a stethoscope.

2. A stethoscopehead comprising a base having a bodycontacting portionleading to a sound-receiving chamber, the area of said body-contactingportion, as well as a transverse section .of the chamber within a planeparallel and adjacent to said body-contacting portion being ofnon-circular form wherein one of the dimensions of each is several timesthat of the other dimension of each, and wherein successive planarsections parallel to, and spaced from said first-mentioned transversesection have a decreasing one dimension and a substantially constantotherdimension, and wherein the dimension of the sound receiving chambertransversely of the plane including the body-contacting portion is morenearly equal to the maximum one dimension than said other substantiallyconstant dimension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GordonNov. 17, Christensen Sept. 15, Sheppard Oct. 19, Bulley Aug. 6, LaubeMay 8, Mallory July 27, Medlin Nov. 1, Ratzan July 18, Hilt et a1. Jan.8, Jesnig Feb. 26, Bradenburg Sept. 8, Fleischer Apr. 13, Florman Mar.15,

